No sign troubled girl was 'high risk': inquest

Tracia Owen was not considered a "high risk" child when she was moved to her final placement at a Winnipeg care facility, according to testimony heard Wednesday at the inquest into the 14-year-old's suicide.

Patricia Cox, who ran the placement desk for Manitoba's Child Protection Branch during the time Tracia was in care, is testifying at the inquest this week.

The desk serves as a central referral system for nearly 300 children a year, generally serving those children who require a kind of care that foster homes can't provide.

Cox testified that Owen was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum in terms of the risk she posed to herself.

She describedthe social history she received on Tracia from South East Child and Family Services as "thin," but said it did show the girl was moved more than 65 times in her life through a variety of foster homes and care facilities.

The file had little indication of Owen's involvement in the sex trade or drug use, Cox said.

Owen was referred to Project Neecheewam, a long-term care facility for aboriginal girls. Cox testified that the placement happened quickly— within two weeks of her referral to the placement desk— and suited Owen's need for aboriginal culture and support.

Indications of trouble came late

Cox told the inquest if there had been evidence that Tracia was involved with the sex trade or drugs, had been on the street or was suicidal, she might have been placed in a more secure facility.

"It didn't appear that Tracia was at huge risk," she said. "The only warning was the large number of moves to indicate her [in]stability."

Owen was placed with Project Neecheewam for eight months, but Cox said indications she was in trouble came only days before she took her own life in August 2005.

Cox testified that while she was on the desk, nearly 5,000 children were under care in Manitoba.She suggested the focus of child-welfare agencies change to"stop the flow of kids coming into care," instead putting more emphasis on prevention and support to families.

Cox left the placement desk in 2006 to work for another agency.

Owen,originally from Little Grand Rapids, wasabusing drugs and was involved in the sex trade in Winnipegwhen shecommitted suicide in a West End garage in August 2005.

The inquest was ordered by the province's chief medical officer to find out whether drugs or sexual exploitation were factors inOwen'sdeath. It will also look at how child welfare services monitored the girl's life.

The inquest resumes Friday.